Peanut Butter Banana Chilled Fudge

Chances are you have some bananas in your kitchen right now! Bananas continue to be one of the most popular commercially sold foods in the world, and with good reason. Bananas are nature’s pre-packaged, ready to-go, nutrient-filled, sweet snack for all ages. Bananas are often baby’s first fruit, athlete’s secret weapon to avoid cramps and a quick boost of energy for working adults’ at mid-day when these fruits function as a sweet treat. On average Americans consume up to 6,500 bananas in their lifetime, and that’s a whole bunch (pun intended)!

If we are all such big fans of bananas, why do an estimated 1.4 million bananas go to waste daily around the world? Well, if you tossed that brown, spotted banana in the trash this morning, it’s easy to connect the dots. The good news is that we are collectively working on decreasing this astonishingly high number of wasted bananas by coming up with new ways to use the not-so-fresh ones for meals and snacks.

It’s inevitable, after a few days, if you weren’t able to consume all the bananas you purchased at the store, they will start to show some browning on the peel, and the inside of the fruit will soften gradually. That’s no reason to toss them away, however! They are now perfect for many different uses. The easiest way to put them to good use is to peel, dice and freeze them. Frozen bananas added to smoothies with other fruits and vegetables will add the thick and creamy quality we all look for in a perfectly blended beverage. Banana ice cream was a social media favorite in 2014: A search on Yummly and Pinterest will yield over 10,000 recipes for ways to create ice cream with frozen bananas.

Perhaps the oldest way to use up the not so perfectly yellow bananas is to make banana bread. And those recipes never get old. There is nothing quite like the smell of banana bread in the oven. In fact, bananas and baked goods are a match made in heaven. Bananas can sweeten your baked goods while adding moisture; they substitute for refined sugar and fat at the same time. Our PB&Banana mini-muffins recipe that you can make in the blender offer another way to make the best out of browning bananas (See recipe here).

But we were able to find yet another way to use up your bananas! And this one is a contender to make your top list since it combines bananas and Once Again Peanut Butter in a whole new way. Do you wish fudge could be more than just an every once in a while treat? Great! This recipe is for you. It’s a peanut butter banana fudge you can enjoy for breakfast, snack or a desert. There is no cooking involved, and you can prep it all in fewer than 10 minutes, then just pop the fudge in the freezer and forget about it. It will be ready in 12 hours or so, and you can keep them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Just as with the popular banana ice cream versions, this fudge recipe has room for you to personalize it. Add cacao powder for a chocolate fudge version, or chop up some dark chocolate chips and walnuts for a Rocky Road-type fudge.

Mix all ingredients and place in silicone mold or freezer safe dish lined with parchment paper. Freeze for at least 4 hours for best results. Keep in freezer for up to two weeks. They are vegan and gluten free.